World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. World of Warcraft takes place within the Warcraft world of Azeroth, approximately four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard's previous Warcraft release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard Entertainment announced World of Warcraft on September 2, 2001.The game was released on November 23, 2004, on the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise. As with other MMORPGs, players control a character avatar within a game world in third- or first-person view, exploring the landscape, fighting various monsters, completing quests, and interacting with non-player characters (NPCs) or other players. Also similar to other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft requires the player to pay for a subscription, either by buying prepaid game cards for a selected amount of playing time, or by using a credit or debit card to pay on a regular basis.You may also get a trial account that lets you play to level 20 for free but has many features locked. To enter the game, the player must select a server, referred to in-game as a realm. Each realm acts as an individual copy of the game world, and falls into one of four categories. Available realms types are:

Normal – a player versus enviroment (PvE) realm where the gameplay is more focused on defeating monsters and completing quests, player-versus-player fights must be consensual, and any roleplay is optional.

PvP – an environment where, in addition to defeating monsters and completing quests, open player-versus-player combat is the norm, and a player can be attacked by an opposing faction's player at any time.

RP-PvP – roleplay-PvP – a variant of PvP, where players are in-character and cross-faction combat is assumed. To create a new character, in keeping with the storyline of previous Warcraft games, players must choose between the opposing factions of the Alliance or the Horde. Characters from the opposing factions can perform rudimentary communication (most often just "emotes"), but only members of the same faction can speak, mail, group, and join guilds. The player selects the new character's race, such as orcs or trolls for the Horde, or humans or dwarves for the Alliance. Players must select the class for the character, with choices such as mages, warriors, and priests available. Most classes are limited to particular races. As characters become more developed, they gain various talents and skills, requiring the player to further define the abilities of that character. Characters can choose from a variety of professions, such as tailoring, blacksmithing, or mining. Characters can learn four secondary skills: archeology, cooking, fishing, and first-aid. Characters may form and join guilds, allowing characters within the guild access to the guild's chat channel, the guild name and optionally allowing other features, including a guild tabard, guild bank, and dues. Much of World of Warcraft play involves the completion of quests. These quests, also called "tasks" or "missions", are usually available from NPCs. World of Warcraft contains a variety of mechanisms for player versus player (PvP) play. World of Warcraft is set in the same universe as the Warcraft series of real-time strategy games, and has a similar art direction. World of Warcraft contains elements from fantasy, steampunk, and science fiction: such as gryphons, dragons, and elves; steam-powered automata; zombies, werewolves, and other horror monsters; as well as time travel, spaceships, and alien worlds.